Sharks saved from soupy fate set free at sea in Thailand

Saved from the soup bowl at a Thai restaurant, the baby shark wriggled out of the bag and into the open sea - a rare survivor of a trade that kills millions of the predators each year. -- PHOTO: AFP PATTAYA, Thailand (AFP) - Saved from the soup bowl at a Thai restaurant, the baby shark wriggled out of the bag and into the open sea - a rare survivor of a trade that kills millions of the predators each year. On average an estimated 22,000 tonnes of sharks are caught annually off Thailand for their fins - a delicacy in Chinese cuisine once enjoyed only by the rich, but now increasingly popular with the wealthier middle class. Thanks to a group of environmental activists calling themselves the Dive Tribe, dozens of sharks were returned to the wild in the Gulf of Thailand recently, bought from animal markets or restaurants. Among them were several young bamboo and black tip ree...